Mumbai, Dec. 26 -- With nominations for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls open and most parties yet to decide on candidates, the Kolis, considered original inhabitants of the city, are pushing for greater representation in the civic body. There are 24 wards across Mumbai where Kolis hold a decisive edge; yet, only two Koli corporators were elected to the BMC in the 2017 polls, rue community leaders. Some aspire to contest in the upcoming polls, and if elected, negotiate better with mega infrastructure projects transforming the coastline and their lives. Others are pressing for political parties to nominate more Koli candidates. The most telling example of the overall mood among Kolis with regards to the election was on display in Versova village, one of the 95 koliwadas in the city, till last week. Banners put up by local fishermen declared 'bhoomiputracha ward, bhoomiputrancha umedwar (ward of sons of the soil, candidates of sons of the soil)' and 'Umedwar asel Koli, kontyahi pakshat, matdaan karu tyalach, purna joshat (If the candidate is Koli, irrespective of party, we'll vote for them, with vigor). These banners were taken down by the BMC on December 15 as part of enforcement of the model code of conduct. But the campaign has continued on social media tapping into the simmering fear and discontent in the community. According to the 2016 Marine Fisheries Census, conducted by the Central Marine Fisheries Institute of India, 32,516 residents of Mumbai were directly involved in fishing and allied industries. Devendra Tandel, president of the Akhil Maharashtra Machimaar Kriti Samiti, said nearly 30,000 Koli women were registered as fish vendors in 108 fish markets across the city. "We have a reasonable population in Mumbai spread across 95 koliwadas. But we have been ignored in the city's decision-making as we are spread across different wards," said Tandel. He referred to the Rs.25 crore allocation for development of the 95 koliwadas in the BMC budget for 2025-26, and said, "The budgetary allocation just doesn't befit the scale of problems that need to be tackled on the ground." Tandel said though Mumbai's first mayor, Balasaheb Worlikar (1961-62), and another recent mayor, Milind Vaidya (1996-97), were Kolis, the community did not have a strong voice electorally. Rajhans Tapke, member of the National Association of Fishermen, concurred, saying no member of the Koli community was currently a member of the assembly or the Parliament. "Though Kolis hold a decisive edge in 24 wards, only two kolis were elected as corporators in the 2017 BMC poll," said Tapke, who hopes to contest the BMC election on a Congress ticket. "People from our community are not granted tickets and this has put us in a very weak situation." The two Koli corporators in the previous civic body were Pushpa Koli from Sion Koliwada (ward no 181), who has switched from the Congress to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Yogita Koli from Malad (ward no 46) from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both the corporators took up more of local issues from their own constituencies rather than issues affecting the entire community, such as the coastal road, said Tapke. "We are being cornered from all sides - our fish markets are being engulfed by big stores and in massive bungalows and resorts are eating into our villages and homes," rued Rajshree Bhange, a resident of Versova koliwada and the head of the Marol Fish sellers community, which is the city's biggest dry fish market She blamed the situation on "not having someone from our own community to raise our issues at the higher echelons of power." "Just because the Kolis occupy some of the prime sea-facing land in the city doesn't mean they should be displaced to make way for a privileged few," said Anita Yewale, a heritage and maritime historian and a member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Mumbai chapter. "The Kolis and their way of life, along with their vibrant culture, should be protected in the city's future planning." "This election is, for us, a battle for survival," said Nandkumar Pawar, president of the Maharashtra Small Scale Traditional Fish Workers Union, referring to projects like the coastal road and the Vadhvan Port that are threatening their livelihoods. "Decisions like approval of housing projects on salt pan land, relaxation of coastal zone regulations and cutting of mangroves are anti-environment and will be harmful for us in the long run," he said, stressing the need to look beyond elections and electoral mechanisms to assert the community's voice. "This is why we have formed gaothan committees in every koliwada in and around Mumbai to resist redevelopment and slum housing in these areas," he said....